The Responsibility of Site Usability

First, please let me state that by no means do I consider myself a usability expert. I have a very good understanding as to what works and what doesn’t on a site. This understanding coupled with my knowledge of Analytics, makes me more qualified than most to advise webmasters into improving on-site metrics.

KPI’s vary from one site to another and it’s interesting to discover why certain clients have come to define them. Some want email addresses. Some want white paper downloads. Some want registrations. All these are fairly standard on-page KPI’s I think you would agree but something is beginning to irk me and it’s something that every web user should feel strongly about too. Businesses often prioritise bringing in new visitors to the site above converting existing users which is wasting resources for all involved.

It may well seem obvious (and a rather moot point) but it is far easier to convert someone on your site than someone who is yet to arrive. With this in mind, shouldn’t effort, care and thought be invested in people already visiting your site? Making their surfing experience easier, quicker and more beneficial? Of course! :)

So if you own a website the data is there. Google Analytics can tell you what keywords are converting and what content people like most. Google Analytics can also tell you what landing pages need improving. What articles are losing the site most traffic? What buttons are prompting fewer actions than others? Analytics knows this. Your site audience knows this. You should know this too.

With increasingly stretched budgets, we all need to make our websites work harder for us. We need to crack the proverbial digital whip and get more ‘bang for our buck’. Plus, being usable is polite and courteous to the web population; after all there is nothing more frustrating than an uncouth website!

Remember, there are more to websites than just keywords.